BSRA's monthly newsletter says its leadership is proposing the changes "based upon requests from many residents, in great part as a result of the activities witnessed at last September's [2008] BSRA election."

That election included an 11th hour write-in attempt, supported by Councilman DeLong and favored by some 2nd St. business owners, to oust BSRA President Mike Ruehle and replace him and his board allies. The effort prompted a large membership turnout and narrowly failed...and Ruehle and his allies were re-elected.

LBReport.com has learned that a group calling itself "Concerned Residents of Belmont Shore" is distributing fliers urging BSRA members to attend the members-only June 27 meeting and defeat the proposed amendments. The fliers don't disclose who the group's leaders are.

"The proposed changes are protecting the incumbents by making it more difficult for a Belmont Shore resident to run for a BSRA office. Eliminating the ability to run as a write-in candidate is anti-democratic," the flier says.

Among the bylaw changes proposed by BSRA's leadership (underscoring indicates new text):

The Bylaws Committee recommends the eligibility requirements for Boardmembers be modified to make Second Street business owners and commercial property owners ineligible for the Executive Board. This change is intended for two reasons. First, to help prevent some of the problems experienced and concerns expressed during the past September BSRA election. Second, to reduce potential conflicts of interest. The proposed changes are consistent with the Business Association bylaws which do not allow residents to be members unless they own a Second Street business. By no means does this change indicate residents who own businesses on Second Street are unwelcome as members in the BSRA.

Part 3.1.B. Qualifications. Executive Board members shall be resident property owners who are Association members in good standing, with the exception that five of the seven Executive Board members at large need not be resident property owners. An Executive Board member shall have been an Association member in good standing for the thirty consecutive days immediately preceding nomination or appointment. No Executive Board member shall hold more than one office at a time. Executive Board members shall not have any ownership interest in any real property in Belmont Shore other than that which is zoned exclusively for residential use and is used exclusively for that purpose. Any person, or his immediate family members, or a resident of his household, who has any ownership or managerial interest in any business enterprise located within the geographical boundaries of the portion of Belmont Shore that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Belmont Shore Business Association is not eligible to be an Executive Board member.

The Bylaws Committee recommends the following three sections of the election process be modified to help prevent problems experienced during the past September BSRA election. The proposed changes eliminate write-in candidates and require election nominees to notify the BSRA one month in advance of the election. This change should help make the BSRA elections an orderly process with fewer surprises and less confusion.

Section 7.l. Nomination. Nominations to the Executive Board shall be submitted before or during the Executive Board meeting held the month (August) immediately proceeding the month of the Election Meeting. The Executive Board shall nominate, at a meeting held one month prior to general elections, one qualified member for each Executive Board office. Additional nominations may be made by any member. Nominees must consent to their nomination. Nominees must meet the qualifications stated in Part 3.1.B of these Bylaws. No person shall be eligible to run for more than one office. These nominees shall be the only persons eligible for election to the Executive Board.

Section 7.2. Procedure. A general membership meeting shall be held during the last month (September) of each membership year. The Executive Board shall place its nominations before the membership. The President shall call for additional nominations from the floor. Nominees must consent to their nomination. When nominations are closed, clerks appointed by the President shall distribute written ballots, the vote shall be taken and tallied by the clerks, and the results announced. The President shall appoint an Election Committee to conduct the election of the Executive Board. The Chair of the committee shall be the Recording Secretary. A general membership meeting shall be held during the last month (September) of the membership year. The election of the Executive Board shall be conducted at this meeting by the Election Committee. Elections shall be by secret, written ballot unless there is only one candidate for an office, when by unanimous consent the ballot may be dispensed with a viva voce vote. no more than one nominee for each office, in which case a voice vote shall be allowed.

The proposed changes are described in full on the following webpage: www.shoreresidents.com/bylaws.htm.

In the BSRA's most recent newsletter, President Ruehle says "Whether the proposed changes are approved or not is entirely up to residents..."

The June 27 BSRA members-only meeting is set for 1:00 pm at Rogers Middle School Auditorium, 365 Monrovia Avenue, with voting scheduled to be completed by 2:00 pm. "Only current BSRA members will be allowed to enter the auditorium and vote. Please bring your passport or drivers license. No other forms of identification will be allowed without prior approval from the BSRA," says BSRA's monthly newsletter.

Acrimony has persisted following last year's election...with Councilman Delong refusing to meet with President Ruehle to discuss unruly and sometimes violent behavior experienced by residents in the neighborhoods adjoining 2nd St. Instead, Councilman DeLong has met privately with residents of his choice as well as city staff...and says those meetings are intended to come up with proposed solutions that will be the subject of public meetings.

BSRA President Ruehle has charged that some of the problem behavior is related to a small number of 2nd St. businesses. The Belmont Shore Business Association (BSBA) disputes Ruehle's charges and has banned him from attending their otherwise public meetings.

Several months ago, President Ruehle began raising the issues at City Council meetings during the time allotted for public comments on non-agendized issues. When these produced little visible movement, residents began uploading evidence of neighborhood-impacting behaviors onto YouTube.com.

One video shows a woman leaving 2nd St. in the nighttime hours, pausing on a residential street to urinate; another shows a loud altercation behind 2nd St. businesses that escaltes into pushing, shoving...and a man striking a woman.

In late May 2009, President Ruehle warned the Council that it was [paraphrase] just a matter of time until the situation escalated into something worse. Within days, an LBPD officer-involved shooting occurred when an individual on 2nd St. allegedly grabbed the officer's baton and refused commands to desist.

The after-midnight officer-involved shooting (reported before dawn on LBReport.com) led to additional coverage, including L.A. TV news reports.

The situation was further inflamed by the sexual assault of a 17 year-old in the area of Livingston Dr/2nd St at about 2 a.m. on June 15, a violent crime that didn't come to light until LBReport.com [and separately, the Press-Telegram] learned about it from area residents and asked LBPD for information which was provided (along with a suspect sketch) on June 22.

Some residents were disturbed by the one week period between the crime and public information regarding its occurrence...which some inferred was due to sensitivity over its occurrence near 2nd St.

LBPD said the delay had nothing to do with the Belmont Shore area location; that it resulted from investigators following leads, comparing evidence, confirming facts, as well as sensitivity involving a juvenile victim and time needed to produce a suspect sketch. LBPD said the process isn't "CSI Long Beach" like a one-hour TV show...and the one week period (in which investigators had hoped to locate the suspect on their own) wasn't long under the circumstances.